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James VanVlerah, September 27th, 2016
In this interview, Vanvlerah briefly discusses growing up on Detroit's west side. In July 1967 he was an engineer at the Delray Power Plant, where workers were called in to stay on premises for the duration of the disturbance.
Larry Shirley, February 18th, 2017
In this interview, Larry Shirley discusses his experiences during the events of July 1967 when he first heard about the disturbance and the immediate changes he experienced at his job working at Crawley’s in downtown Detroit.
Nabeel Abraham, October 31st, 2016
In this interview, Dr. Abraham discusses his memories of the summer of 1967 as an Arab teenager living in Detroit. He remembers his relationships with his peers and the reactions of the people around him. Abraham was more interested in international…
Joel Smith, August 22nd, 2016
In this interview, Joel Smith talks about his memories of growing up in the Detroit area and cruising down Woodward with his friends. They often spent time in the city and enjoyed the concerts and the parks. In the summer of 1967, he and his friends…
Melvin Dismukes, August 3rd, 2017
In this interview, Dismukes discusses his childhood growing up in the Jeffries Projects and the many jobs he had. He talks about his memories of the week of July 23, 1967 and specifically his memories of what he witnessed at the Algiers Motel and the…
Martha Rabaut, January 31st, 2017
In this interview, Rabaut recalls her memories of the summer of 1967 when she worked with a program set up by the diocese to help residents of Detroit. She and her fellow volunteers would hold liturgies in their building and she remembers the…
Richard Broschay, January 24th, 2017
In this interview, Broschay recounts his time serving with the Michigan National Guard and his deployment in the city of Detroit in July, 1967. He was stationed out of Central High School and volunteered to go out on patrols.
Leslie McKeever
Leslie McKeever's father was a fireman in Detroit from 1946 to 1976. McKeever remembers him working during the week of July 23, 1967 and the family's eventual move to the suburbs despite the requirement for firemen to live within the city limits.
Barbara Williams
In this interview, Williams describes her childhood growing up in a primarily Catholic, all-white neighborhood. She gives stories of her first interactions with African Americans and Civil Rights members, and how the interactions shaped her world…
William Pattinson, 2005
In this interview, Pattinson discusses growing up in various Detroit neighborhoods, his family, and race relations in the city before and after the events of 1967.
Phil Johnson, October 4th, 2016
In this interview, Johnson discusses his role as a phone lineman during the unrest in the summer of 1967. He reports that his workplace was integrated, and did not see any tension prior to ‘67. Once the unrest occurred, however, he and his coworkers…
Pat McCluskey, December 6th, 2016
In this interview McCluskey discusses her memories of growing up on Detroit’s east side. McCluskey also discusses her community work with the IHM sisters immediately following the events of 1967.
